Divorce, Family Law, and Bankruptcy Attorneys in Cook County

Anderson & Associates, P.C.

1701 East Woodfield Road
Suite 1050
Schaumburg, Illinois 60173
USA

(847) 995-9999

(847) 995-0117

www.andersonandassociatespc.com

Contact Jonathan G. Anderson

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The Law Offices of Anderson & Associates, P.C., founded in 1983, is one of the most established law firms in Illinois with a primary focus on family law. The firm has office locations in Chicago, Schaumburg, Northbrook, and Wheaton, Illinois.

In addition to family law, the firm also handles corporate law, bankruptcy, loan modifications, personal injury, estate planning, probate, and real estate matters.

Lawyers at our firm are dedicated to providing quality legal services to secure the best possible results for our clients.

Areas of Law

Additional Areas of Law: Business Valuation; Chapter 13 Bankruptcy; Chapter 7 Bankruptcy; Move Away Situations; Cohabitation Agreements; Contested Adoptions; Division of Marital Property; Estate Administration; Creditor Negotiations; Grandparents' Rights & Visitation; Guardianships; Post Decree Enforcement of Judgments; Post Decree Modifications; Postnup Agreements; Prenuptial/Postnuptial Litigation; Representation of Unmarried Couples; Restraining Orders; Durable Power of Attorney.

Areas of Law Description

Our practice includes:

- Adoptions

Our firm handles a wide range of domestic matters involving all aspects of family law. We have recently added an attorney who focuses a large part of her law practice on adoptions. With the benefit of her experience and dedication to the legal aspects of adoption, our clients are assured of adept handling of all aspect of an adoption, including: Termination of parental rights of biological parents, whether voluntarily or by determination of the courts that they are unfit parents; Confirmation of the courts that the adoption is in the best interests of the child; Contested adoption litigation in court.

- Alimony / Spousal Maintenance

Determining who will or will not receive alimony (also called spousal maintenance) is a complex decision that is not determined by state statutes, like child support. Alimony decisions are made at the discretion of the family court judge, after considering a number of factors presented by each client's attorney. An effective presentation of the facts can make a big difference in the outcome of an alimony case. We represent men and women who are seeking to get or to avoid spousal maintenance in a divorce proceeding in family court in Cook County, DuPage County, Lake County, Kane County, Will County, or McHenry County.

- Bankruptcy

Our bankruptcy lawyers can explain your options and represent you in legal proceedings if you are facing foreclosure or want to prevent foreclosure. We can help with procedural review, foreclosure appeals, private investor solutions, real estate sales and closing assistance, post sale representation, and buy-back negotiations. It is not our goal to simple prepare and file a Chapter 7 or a Chapter 13 bankruptcy for you. Our goal is to solve the financial problems you are experiencing and to provide the legal services you need. We are creative and tenacious problem solvers working on your behalf in negotiations and in bankruptcy court.

- Business Valuation

At Anderson & Associates, P.C., we protect the rights of clients in divorce and property division. Many of our clients have significant financial and property assets, often including family-owned businesses or business partnerships. For more than 25 years, our experienced divorce attorneys have been providing aggressive and effective legal counsel to business owners, business professionals, and stay-at-home spouses in high-income couples. Through negotiation, mediation, and litigation in family court we help clients reach property settlement agreements.

- Chapter 13 Bankruptcy

Homeowners, business owners and other people with significant assets and income often find the way out of overwhelming debt through Chapter 13 (debt reorganization) bankruptcy. At the law offices of Anderson & Associates, P.C., in Wheaton, Chicago and Schaumburg, Illinois, we help individuals and couples evaluate financial and legal options when debt has become overly burdensome. Anderson & Associates, P.C. has a well-established bankruptcy practice. We evaluate clients' best options on an individual basis. Our bankruptcy attorneys are known for their insight and professionalism. We welcome the opportunity to work with Illinoisans who prefer hands-on legal advocacy and personalized legal counsel. We are prepared to work hard so that you understand your rights and responsibilities, and to protect your rights throughout the Chapter 13 process. We are known as aggressive, effective advocates and skillful negotiators.

- Chapter 7 Bankruptcy

As a well-established family law firm, Anderson & Associates, P.C., is no stranger to the full range of financial and legal problems that beset many divorcing couples. Our family law clients often have multiple issues including the crushing burden of debt that they have not been able to repay on schedule. When our clients face the real possibility of financial ruin, we help them evaluate all options and move forward with a full understanding of the risks and benefits of their chosen solution. We are not a bankruptcy mill or factory. We will not push clients into bankruptcy if it is not right for them. However, after discussing your options with one of our attorneys, you may reach the conclusion that Chapter 7 bankruptcy is the right solution for you and your family. Chapter 7 is often called the "debt discharge" bankruptcy, since dischargeable debts will actually be wiped out and it does not necessarily require liquidation of assets. We are prepared to represent you in a personalized, no-nonsense manner through all phases of a Chapter 7 (debt discharge) bankruptcy proceeding.

- Child Custody

Child custody and visitation are the most commonly disputed issues in divorce negotiations because of the emotional and financial effects. The guiding principle in all child custody matters is "the best interest of the child," but often parents do not agree on what is really in the child's best interest. A skilled and experienced child custody attorney can be particularly important in the outcome of a child custody case in a divorce situation. Even in paternity cases, it's wise to work with a lawyer who can help you get favorable visitation (which may include grandparent visitation). The child custody lawyers at Anderson & Associates, P.C. have been helping families in Cook County and DuPage County with child custody negotiations for more than 25 years. We are committed to effectively representing your interests in child custody negotiations and in court.

- Child Custody & Move Away Situations

Your child's wellbeing comes first in the eyes of the law. Parental rights are precious. The courts may not give approval for your plan to take your child out of state if you are a parent with primary custody. Sensitive negotiations, mediation or litigation may be necessary to come to an agreement or a decision on how to proceed when you wish to take your child out of state or prevent your ex-spouse from doing so. We are a well-established family law firm with offices in Chicago, Wheaton and Schaumburg, Illinois. Our lawyers are strong advocates and knowledgeable counselors. We understand the urgency that one or both parents may face when distance threatens parental bonds. While child removal or move away cases are never easy, our attorneys have successfully represented the interests of many parents in such scenarios.

- Child Support

In Illinois, child support is usually paid by the non-custodial parent to the custodial parent for the support and education of the children. The court may also order the non-custodial parent to pay a portion of the child’s health care expenses not covered by insurance and to pay reasonable child care expenses. Our family law attorneys can help you apply Illinois child support laws to your financial situation to develop fair and enforceable child support agreements for your family.

- Child Visitation

Visitation (or parenting time) agreements formally establish a schedule for children to spend time with parents and grandparents. A thorough agreement will be more effective in minimizing conflicts between parents while ensuring a child maintains a positive relationship with both parents (and extended family). Our child custody lawyers help clients achieve favorable custody and visitation agreements in negotiations or in Illinois family court. For more than 25 years, we've been providing effective and sensitive legal counsel to help families develop visitation plans that meet the best interest of their child.

- Cohabitation Agreements

Once you and your special someone have made the decision to live your lives together in one household without the benefit of marriage, you may wonder how best to handle the financial and legal aspects of your union. Such questions are especially important if either party owns property, has children, or earns a much higher income than the other. You may wonder how to protect your personal assets while still contributing fairly to the costs involved in maintaining a mutual home. In sum, your cohabitation agreement and related documents such as powers of attorney can help protect your rights while together as well as in case of a separation or death of one or the other. Misunderstandings and heartaches may be avoided through a well-crafted cohabitation agreement.

- Contested Adoptions

In the best of circumstances, an adoption is consented to by the biological parents, progresses smoothly through all required processes and procedures including home studies, and is irreversible. The results of an adoption should be a lasting, stable home for a well-adjusted child. Unfortunately, sometimes things go wrong somewhere along the way in an adoption story. Our attorneys are well versed and experienced in all aspects of family law, including adoption disputes. The firm recently added an attorney who concentrates her practice in adoption cases. We are prepared to represent our clients vigorously and knowledgeably in cases of adoption complications when birth parents reappear or seek to stop the finalization of an adoption at the last minute. No matter what type of contested adoption you are involved in, we can help. You may be a biological father opposing the proposed stepparent adoption of your child, a would-be adoptive mother or father, or a grandparent seeking guardianship or to assert rights to custody or visitation.

- Division of Marital Property

The division of marital assets and debt is one aspect of dissolution of marriage. If the decision of marital property division is left to the family court judge, he or she will seek to make an "equitable distribution" of the assets and debt. "Equitable" does not mean equal, however. At Anderson & Associates, P.C., we help clients in Cook County and DuPage County negotiate property settlement agreements that are fair, reasonable, and that protect the financial stability of the client. When negotiation is not effective, we represent our clients vigorously in family court.

- Divorce

Our divorce attorneys provide sound legal advice and aggressive divorce litigation during challenging times. Anderson & Associates attends to all matters associated with legal separation and marital dissolution in Illinois, including:

• Uncontested Divorce: This is the cheapest and easiest type of divorce if both parties are in agreement on every issue. An uncontested divorce can only occur if both parties agree to the divorce and there are no disagreements over the division of marital assets and custody, or if one party fails to appear in the divorce action.
• Contested Divorce: If the two parties do not agree on all aspects of the divorce, this is called a "contested divorce." Our lawyers provide clients with vigorous representation in family court in contested divorce cases. We help our clients negotiate, mediate, or fight for divorce agreements that include an equitable property settlement agreement and reasonable child custody and support agreements.

- Estate Administration

After the death of a loved one in Illinois, whether you are nearby or out of state, you are well advised to seek the assistance of a knowledgeable attorney. At the law offices of Anderson & Associates, P.C., in Chicago, Schaumburg and Wheaton, the entire focus of our law practice is on legal matters of importance to families. Our attorneys have developed a reputation for our attentive, professional and efficient manner of practicing law in Illinois. We maintain two offices for the convenience of our clients throughout Cook County, DuPage County and in other nearby counties. Our goal in our probate and estate administration law practice is to enable families to move forward without complication or delay in legal or financial matters after someone has passed away. We are often able to prevent or correct complications that arise, such as will contests. If estate litigation is needed, we are prepared to represent your interests.

- Estate Planning

It is important that you and your family analyze your estate planning needs. Important questions - questions that many of us would prefer to avoid - need to be answered to ensure the welfare of your loved ones. Simply making others aware of your wishes is not enough. It is essential that you have the legal framework in place to ensure that your directions are communicated correctly and are followed. The Illinois estate planning attorneys of Anderson & Associates have 25 years of experience helping individuals and couples navigate the many issues involved in developing an appropriate and effective estate plan. We tailor each plan specifically to meet our clients' unique family situation and personal goals.

- Foreclosure & Creditor Negotiations

Sometimes foreclosure cannot be avoided and the best way forward is to minimize liability. Our years of experience in family law, estate planning and bankruptcy translate into efficient, sensible advocacy on behalf of individuals and couples who are at risk of losing their homes to foreclosure. Our attorneys work hard to protect the rights of mortgagees whose houses will be reclaimed by mortgage lenders. Our lawyers have a great deal of experience negotiating with creditors (including credit card companies and auto loan companies) as an alternative to bankruptcy. We often succeed in helping renegotiate home loans, allowing our clients to stay in their houses while reorganizing their finances. We represent clients whose homes are in foreclosure, whether or not forced home sale will occur in conjunction with a Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcy.

- Grandparents' Rights & Visitation

It is assumed that the parent will protect the relationship between the grandchild and the grandparent. If the parent cannot protect that relationship because the parent is disabled, deceased, incarcerated or legally unavailable, the grandparents can seek reasonable visitation from the other parent. They can seek the amount of visitation they would have had if the parent (their son or daughter) had been available to protect the grandparent-grandchild relationship. At Anderson & Associates, P.C., we have represented grandparents seeking visitation as well as parents seeking to prevent or limit such visitation when it was not in the best interest of the child. For more than 20 years, our child custody lawyers have been providing sensitive and effective legal counsel to families in the greater Chicago area.

- Guardianships

Guardianship is a legal solution that helps many families address questions involving children with absent or incompetent parents as well as incapacity of adults who need legal protection. A child may need a legal guardian when parents have died, are in prison, are incapacitated by drug addiction or other debilitating conditions or are overseas in the military. We are an Illinois family law practice that handles many legal issues affecting families, including divorce, parentage and paternity, bankruptcy, cohabitation agreements and litigation, estate planning and litigation, adoption and guardianship.

- Parentage / Paternity

Establishing paternity, known as parentage under Illinois law, is a crucial first step in ensuring that a child receives financial support and a father's rights and role in his child's life are protected. We help mothers with paternity lawsuits to get testing to resolve paternity disputes. The Illinois Department of Children and Family Services created the Putative Father Registry to improve the process of notifying a biological father of a pending adoption proceeding. Fathers who want to establish the paternity of their child can register as a father on this site. The Putative Father Registry protects fathers who do not want to lose their parental rights in an adoption. It also protects prospective adoptive parents from an adoption dispute if a biological father has not received proper notification or consented to the adoption.

- Post Decree Enforcement of Judgments

After a divorce is finalized, it is not uncommon for one party to the divorce to accuse the other of failing to meet the conditions set forth in the divorce decree. If your ex-spouse is breaking the settlement agreement that is codified in your divorce papers, we strongly encourage you to discuss your situation with a knowledgeable family law attorney. You may need advice and assistance if your former spouse falsely accuses you of breaking the terms of your divorce decree. You wish to put the divorce behind you, but it is hard to do so when loose ends are not resolved. If your son or daughter is caught in the middle of a child custody and visitation violation, you have a sense of urgency about settling the matter for the sake of greater stability. There are a variety of legal solutions available to divorced spouses and separated parents. Discuss post decree judgment enforcements with a knowledgeable lawyer who knows what really works most of the time.

- Post Decree Modifications

Whether the post decree modification that you seek (or seek to avoid) involves child support, spousal support or child custody, you need to discuss options and risks with a knowledgeable attorney. Our family law attorneys know when to be tough and when to recommend compromise to prevent escalation of disagreement and discord in a divorced family situation. Often, new agreements can be reached through negotiations or mediation, without having to resort to litigation. But if your post decree modification matter needs to go to court, we are prepared to zealously defend your rights and interests.

- Postnup Agreements

Marital agreements, whether drawn up before or after the wedding, are legally enforceable contracts between a husband and a wife. A post-nuptial agreement typically defines the "character" of all or a portion of marital assets, defining ownership of certain property. It can also define who is responsible for debts. A post-nuptial agreement is often used to protect the marital property interests of one spouse if the other spouse is about to embark on a risky business venture. It can also be helpful during a time of marital problems, providing peace of mind to a spouse who feels at financial risk but who might be willing to work on a relationship if they felt their interests were protected. At the law office of Anderson & Associates, our family law attorneys assist couples in reviewing or drafting enforceable marital agreements. The Illinois firm won a precedent-setting post-nuptial case on appeal, and has experienced lawyers ready to serve clients with post martial agreement needs.

- Premarital Agreements

In Illinois, two people who are contemplating marriage can enter into a written agreement that controls how certain financial matters will be handled during the marriage or in the event of a divorce and death of a spouse. Such an agreement may be called a "premarital agreement" or a "prenuptial agreement." These agreements are governed by the Illinois Premarital Agreement Act. If you are considering marriage or remarriage and you would like to learn more about the possible benefits of a premarital contract for your particular family and financial situation, we have extensive experience negotiating and drafting premarital agreements. We understand the delicate nature of these negotiations and are adept at protecting our clients’ interests without disrupting the parties’ relationship.

- Prenuptial/Postnuptial Litigation

Disputes over prenuptial agreements and postnuptial agreements may arise at the time of a separation or divorce even when the contract was entered into with precision and care. One party to the prenup or post-nup may claim that it was signed under duress. Our attorneys years' of experience in family law enable us to evaluate the validity of a prenup or post-nup, advise you of your rights, and work to preserve as many assets as you are entitled to when you are divorcing or separating. When you choose our firm, you can count on a tradition of representing people in a wide range of issues pertaining to families: divorce, estate planning, adoption, guardianships, bankruptcy and real estate matters. We are strong and effective advocates for our clients, every step of the way.

- Representation of Unmarried Couples

Much like married couples, unmarried couples often co-mingle their finances and property while they are living together (cohabiting). And like married couples, they face the challenge of arriving at a reasonable and fair division of property when the relationship ends. The family law attorneys at the Illinois law office of Anderson & Associates, P.C. help married and unmarried couples alike with the division of assets and debts. From our offices in Chicago, Schaumburg or Wheaton we are a convenient and helpful legal resource for couples throughout Cook County and DuPage County.

- Restraining Orders

During the emotionally difficult time leading to and during a divorce, it's not uncommon for a spouse to suffer from or inflict physically abusive or threatening behavior. Despite the understandable stress and difficulty of your situation, it is never okay to resort to violence. If you have been victimized, you do have rights! The family lawyers at Anderson & Associates care about your safety and the safety of your children.

- Uncontested Divorce

Uncontested divorce may be the right solution for you when you and your husband or wife are in agreement about what each of you will take from the marriage. Perhaps you have already been living separate lives for some time, and need to put a legal finality to your marital dissolution. It often happens, however, that what seems like an uncontested divorce becomes a traditional case of divorce litigation when unexpected issues or new demands arise. Our lawyers' years of experience can help you through a contested or uncontested divorce with your family's long-term well-being front and center.

Attorneys

	Mr. Jonathan G. Anderson Attorney Debtor and Creditor, Estate Planning, Family Law		Mr. Robert J. Boszko Attorney Business and Industry, Estate Planning, Family Law, Real Estate
	Ms. Sarah A. Nolan Attorney Debtor and Creditor, Family Law, Foreclosure		Mrs. Kiley M. Whitty Attorney Bankruptcy, Debtor and Creditor, Estate Planning, Family Law, Real Estate
	Mrs. Rebecca L. Zeilenga Attorney Bankruptcy, Debtor and Creditor, Family Law, Real Estate